The Blood of a Fire Pokemon
by kittiepaws
Summary: When a growlithe is abandoned, novice trainer Kar adopts it and struggles to gain its trust. He sets out trying to become somebody important, but what he gets instead...well, you can see for yourself! Ch. 5 now up!
1. Chapter 1

The blood of a fire pokemon

The pokemon scampered out of the dark house, running into the cold dark night. Frost stained the small Growlithe's fur, and crimson blood seeped from the pokemon's coat. In the background emerging from the house, a murky silhouette banged a large blunt object against a lamp post. The Growlithe only scampered faster, as swift as its feet would carry it, to a destination it was not sure that it even it knew. It ran through the feet of people who didn't do so much as look down at the small hurt pokemon, some accidentally tripping on it's tail causing to let out an abrupt squeal. Most would shoo it with a newspaper when they saw it loitering the trash cans, scrounging for food.

The Growlithe puppy whined as the falling snow turned into a seething hurricane. Quickly it bolted for shelter under anything it could find-as that happened to be a box right then. As it started to fall asleep, shivering from the numbing cold, an angry sparrow approached; possessive of the territory it considered its box. The bird-like pokemon pecked at the puppy vigorously until it ran out of the box into the snowstorm again, the dim flames on its body growing quickly dimmer. Soon the pokemon fainted, its body lying miserably in the snow.

A young pokemon trainer ran home, wanting to get out of the furious blizzard. As it ran past an ally-way, a speck of red caught his eye. Turning around, he saw a small fainted pokemon lying injured in the snow. It was extremely cold, frost enveloping its body, and it bled freely.

"Oh my…" He said, his voice impaired from a sudden shriek of the snowstorm. He hid the small Growlithe in his coat and ran home as fast as he possibly could. The cars had completely abandoned the streets; the gyms and poke' schools were all closed. The pokemon centers were so full of traveling trainers who needed shelters that the pokemon trainer had to go home instead. He barraged inside the house, kicking the door open and set the Growlithe down. His young sister came downstairs, still in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes.

"Kar, what's happening…? Oh-that poor pokemon!" She said her eyes darting to the Growlithe in alarm.

"Go get the electric blanket, please, sister. And maybe some bandages. This Growlithe is badly injured…"

She nodded and ran upstairs. Very faintly, the pokemon's eyes opened. They made contact with Kar for the first time. He reached his hand out to touch it, but the puppy growled lowly, with the energy it had left. It reached out to nibble Kar's hand, not trusting him a bit. The Growlithe's trust for humans had been betrayed long ago.

Her sister ran downstairs, the electric blanket and the bandage in her hands. "Do you need help, Kar?"

"No, Myra, go back to bed." She looked hesitant, but dropped the items on the table and walked back up the stairs. Setting the Growlithe by the fireplace, Kar put the blanket on the shivering pokemon and started to wrap up it's injuries. Even though the puppy bit at his skin trying to get him away, Kar continued, until the small puppy pokemon was completely bandaged and warmed up considerably. Kar put his hand on Growlithe's dimly lit coat. Even though the pokemon growled in apprehension, he slowly let Kar rub his hand up and down his coat. It wasn't trust. It wasn't faith, reliance, or hope in Kar that the Growlithe held for him. No-maybe not. But it was a start…

_I might or I might not make a chapter two. If I were to make a chapter two then you can rest assured it would be a very long story about Kar's pokemon journey. It really depends on the feedback. ;;_


	2. Chapter 2

Slowly the Growlithe woke up. The sun shone through an open window-a welcome surprise considering the previous night's blizzard. His eyes flickered around the interior of the house, and he slowly adjusted to the fact that he was now somewhere else. As far as he could notice, no one else seemed to be around.

The small puppy tried to rise to its feet but could not muster up the strength to do so. After a few tries getting up and his Paws buckling, the small pokemon just accepted that he could not get up and lay down a bit perplexed where he had awaken, staring listlessly into the fire place, the flames of which had long but diminished.

Along with his own, he had thought last night. His previous owner hated him. The puppy was clueless as to why. Being only a pokemon, he was not capable of processing his thought in the same way as a human could. He only had a couple of faint and fading memories.

He remembered a large brimming Arcanine that was his mother. Glorious flames surrounded her, and he remembered she had won many ribbons. But that was all that he could remember about her, and nothing else. Being so small, the pokemon had expended its energy to think, and quickly fell asleep.

Kar walked into the house, having just returned home from his pokemon training class. Although he was already 16, he had not yet gotten his pokemon license out of nothing more then pure laziness. He had, however, regained a new interest in the sport about three months ago. Soon he would be able to set out.

Myra, Kar's little sister approached him, dressed in a cute pink dress, and brushing her short blonde hair. Myrabelle was very young at the time, around the age of 6. After both of their parents had disappeared and left Myrabelle and their infant brother in the hands of Kar, he had his hands full taking care of them.

"Brother, can I go pet the growlie now?" She asked innocently, tilting her head to the side.

"Myra, he's a small puppy and he barely even lets me touch him. I'm not going to let you get rabies or some strange disease if he bites you. Go outside and play, your friends wanted you, alright?"

She looked disappointed, but the young girl obeyed. After she had run outside, Kar's eyes darted to the sleeping Growlithe by the fireplace. He neared it the sleeping pokemon, and picked up with a great amount of care. Slowly he stroked its fur until one eye flew open at him.

"It's ok. I'm not going hurt you, little guy." Kar promised. The Growlithe appeared remotely soothed, as it did not bite, or nibble, or gnaw. It may have been because he trusted the 16 year old with blue eyes and sandy blonde hair, or it may have been because he was just too tired to care anymore.

The next day Kar sat in a small desk at poke' school. It would be impossible to explain the embarrassment he felt being the only 16-year-old there amongst a bunch of 10-year-olds, but not having his license was much worse. The ridicule he endured for it was much like what one would endure for being illiterate.

The teacher was discussing a test. The last test that the students would ever have to take, and if they passed, they would go home with a pokemon license free to start training whenever they desired. The summary of the test was this:

The trainer would receive three pokeballs containing three random pokemon. It was the object of the trainer to defeat his or her teacher in a three on three (obviously) battle. If the test was not passed, then it would be the responsibility of the student to take the course over again. And again and again until the course was eventually passed.

Kar sat with his hand on his chin, staring out the open window. He hoped his sister wasn't poking at 'growlie' again. Though the pokemon was recovering well, it was still hostile. Kar suspected it would Bite if Myra touched it, and no matter how man times he scolded her she still tried to pet him…

"Mr. Kar!" Shouted the teacher, her hands on her hips. Startled, he scampered up and fell down, the young children laughing at him.

"Umm, yes?"

"Due to your ignorance and your inability to pay the slightest bit of attention in class, you will be going first."

"Yes Miss Kesh…" He said, half grumbling. Under his breath, he added "Stupid bitch…"

Miss Kesh, instead of being on of the beautiful intelligent teachers horny schoolboys imagined, was an old wrinkled and fairly bitter woman, that, due solely to her lack of life and not her love of children, pokemon, or teaching, was forced into the job she now possessed.

"Now class, if you'll follow me outside…"

The class rose and the classroom was filled with the shuffling of feet rising from their desks and some students hurriedly flipping through there notes, trying to memorize the type match-ups at the last minute. With a yawn, Kar head out the door, into the park outside front, set up as a battle field for the students. Many young children gathered around to watch the students battle. Since the younger kids were forbidden to do it, there was nothing more they enjoyed or thought cooler then a pokemon battle.

"Brother, over here!" Kar's eyes darted through the large crowd to the owner of the voice to see his sister, carrying their infant brother in one arm and his Growlithe in the other. Alarmed, Kar shouted over to her.

"What the hell do you think your doing, Myra? You know he's not tame!"

"Well, he wasn't with you. I gave him some poke snacks and he's perfectly friendly. And cute, too!" She said, with a giggle. Then she gave the puppy a pat on the head and it lolled its tongue out and licked her lovingly.

"But…" Kar started to object, but the pokemon did look much friendlier. His sister had such a strange way with the creatures. "Alright…"

"Kar!" A sharp voice cut from behind him again. Whirring around, he faced his wrinkled teacher, who didn't, nor ever did, look pleased. "If you have not noticed, you are in the process of taking a test for your trainer's LISENCE. If you are taking this seriously at all, I suggest you pay close attention to what I'm about to tell you. Is this clear?" she said, poking him roughly in the stomach.

"Yes Ma'am…" He responded, slightly begrudgingly.

"You will use three pokemon provided for you. With them, you must defeat me in a three on three battle by successfully knocking out all three of my pokemon. If you manage to do this…I will award you with your pokemon license…and you will go home not a complete and total failure."

"Yes Ma'am…"

"Now, here are your three pokeballs. Use them wisely. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's do so."

The crowd of children and some adults watched intently as the two trainers made there first moves.

"Go!" Kar released a pokemon from his first pokeball. In a flash of white light, Pidgeotto appeared, looking a bit lethargic, and immediately started to preen itself. Kar sighed and scratched his head, digging up moves for a Pidgeotto in his mind.

"Go!" the old wrinkled Miss Kesh released the second pokemon, and in another flash of white glare a Raichu appeared. Kar gaped, not able to believe his bad luck.

"But," Kar started, looking franticly at the Raichu.

"Uh, uh, uh, Kar. You know this match is about using your resources." She replied. Though something in her eyes was fairly snide.

"Ugh…Pidgeotto, Aerial Ace!" The pokemon moved with remarkable speed towards its target, swooping like a hawk to a mouse.

"That's not going to work…" She teased. "Raichu, your opponents in the air. Now's your chance-thunder!" Immediately Pidgeotto's fell swoop was interrupted by a shock from thunder. Pidgeotto was almost fried, but being a resilient thing, it managed to stand up.

"Damn it!" Kar scoffed, looking worried.

"Raichu, please teach him a lesson-shock wave!" Raichu began to launch his thunderous and unavoidable attack, and the thunder rushed towards the weak pokemon like a torrent.

"Quickly, use protect!" Pidgeotto, determined to prevent its damaged pride from further harm, used protect. "Now, sand attack. That should lower Raichu's accuracy." The pokemon did as it was told, unleashing a sand attack on its opponent. Blinded, Raichu started rubbing its eyes frantically.

"Raichu, don't let this fool beat you, try another shock wave!" Raichu, who was facing almost the opposite direction of Pidgeotto, took a delayed response, turning itself around, trying to sense where his opponent was while still rubbing his eyes.

"Raichu is slowed down, Pidgeotto, now's your chance. Aerial Ace!" Pidgeotto swooped down again, hitting not extraordinarily hard, maybe, but enough to throw Raichu completely off course.

"Raichu…paralyze the beast with thunder wave!" A small current of energy was thrust at Pidgeotto, but the pokemon managed to fly under it swiftly.

"Finish Raichu off-I know you can, Pidgeotto. Hyper Beam!"

A vigorous blast flew at Raichu, who though tried to escape, failed because it tripped on a clump of dirt. It hit Raichu dead on and the pokemon fell, fainted. The crowd erupted with great applause, amazed Kar was able to win at such a type disadvantage. It almost seemed like a grimace the crossed his teacher's face.

"Fine. But you won't win, Kar. Go!" In another white light, A Machamp appeared ready to fight. Kar looked like he was about to have a temper tantrum upon seeing it.

"But!"

"Now Kar…use you're resources." Said Miss Kesh said "You're obviously mighty good at it." She added, smiling wryly.

"…Aerial Ace, Pidgeotto." Again the pokemon swooped, but this time it was not nearly strong enough for Machamp.

"Grab it, Machamp." The brawny Machamp, complete with rippling muscles, grabbed the bird type pokemon in mid air. "Now…Focus Punch!"

The already weakened Pidgeotto couldn't resist the attack, and it fainted quickly.

"Ugh…go, pokeball!" out popped a small, cute, but not very power dazzling abra. "There is no way that that's even-"

"Kar…use your resources…" She chimed, and now seemed to be having a good time.

"Damn you…" He grumbled. "That bitch…" he added in a low voice, racking his brains for moves for Abra. Of course, he knew the pokemon was weak against Machamp. He knew Thunder Wave could be taught through the move tutor. It might work… "Abra, use your Thunder Wave!" identical to Raichu's thunder wave, it moved not quite so fast towards Machamp.

"Ah, knowing that Abra can learn Thunder Wave Very good…but not quite good enough, I'm afraid." She grinned. "Double team, Machamp." As the pokemon split into two at exactly the right time, wouldn't you know it; the attack hit the wrong one. "Cross chop, now Machamp!" Machamp ran towards Abra, smacking it with cross chop upside the head. The pokemon flew into the air and came down with a thud, spittle dripping from the side of its mouth and clearly fainted.

"But…"

"Now then, that didn't last long, did it? And you see, it's because I'm so much more skilled. Maybe if you paid attention in class…maybe if you're used your resources…."

"You think your great, don't you? But your not, I'll beat you to the ground like I've wanted to do since the first day I met you!" He returned abra and reached for a third pokeball on his belt. There was none. Surprised, he checked again. Still none. He looked over, behind, and under his legs, but he still could see no third pokeball.

"Oh, Kar, have you lost your third pokemon? Ah well then. It appears I win by default."

"That's not fair. You took it, didn't you?"

"Not only can't you prove that, but it doesn't matter. I've won; those are the rules, better luck next year." She smiled, clasping her arms together as if she was an innocent old lady with no regrets or evil nestled in her heart. A murmur of outrage and disapproval moved through the adult spectators and the children seemed upset.

"I won't lose to you." Kar said simply. Then, looking downwards, he saw a pokemon. His pokemon. Growlithe. Myrabelle looked over to him, grinning and waving her hands.

"Brother, Growlie wanted to fight with you! So I told him to do it and win the battle so you can get your trainer's license!" She seemed pleased with herself, and her infant brother gurgled in delight, clapping his hands. Kar couldn't object. So he turned to her and nodded his head in thanks.

"But…that's impossible…" Growled Miss Kesh. "It's against the rules."

"You've been breaking them. Let's go, Growlithe, Overheat!" Flashing a dark red, Growlithe ran towards Machamp, glowering red.

"Hmm. Oh well, just another fly anyways." Miss Kesh sighed. "Counter it with cross chop!"

As Growlithe leapt upwards, something odd happened. Even though Machamp was the highest evolved form, and seemed as if it were at a higher level, Growlithe countered the cross chop with ease. Then it hit the fighting pokemon hard with overheat. Knocked aback, the Machamp was severally weakened.

"Why is it so strong?" The teacher demanded, clutching her fist into a ball. "Focus Punch, Machamp!"

"Counter it. Fire blast!" As Machamp attempted to dig its fist into Growlithe, it ran into the fire blast and fell over backwards, fainted. Perhaps much faster then it should have, considering it was fighting only a Growlithe. The puppy stood there amongst the cheer scratching his fur while Kar basked in the glory.

"Send out your last pokemon then, Miss Kesh." Kar said, his hand on his hips.

"I don't have one." she shot back, and threw her last pokeball to the floor. "It was empty. I'll admit, I cheated. But I don't think there should be trainers like you in the world."

"I'm better then you!" He shot, putting the other two pokeballs in a bin used for the test.

"It appears so…" The old lady reflected. "But I'll just have to get better, won't I?" She turned and left through the speechless crowd and the confused students. And then there was Kar, who smiled contentedly, as he approached the ground where his former teacher stood for the battle. Miss Kesh left, in her wake, his pokemon license.

"Myra?" Said Kar, as he sat on the couch later that night, staring out the window. His Growlithe lay away from him, as soon its hostility had returned.

"Yes, brother?" Myra said, as she played with her dolls next to the fire place.

"Thanks. I wouldn't have been able to do it with out you. But how…how did you get Growlithe to obey me? It couldn't have been the snacks and it wasn't, was it? And how did it fully heal?"

"I don't know, to be honest…he just seemed to trust me. And I brought him to a pokemon center because it was much less full." She kind of made a face like she was lying then, but Kar didn't see what she could possibly have to lie about. "Brother, are you going away? On a journey?"

"I suppose that I will. I was planning on leaving tomorrow; I have a lot of places to go to and much to do if I hope to compete in the league this year."

"Yeah, I thought so too. But I wouldn't have helped you if I didn't want you to go. I can take care of me and little Tammy!" she beamed proudly. Kar ruffled her hair.

"Not a chance, kid. Not a chance. I'm leaving you with Katie."

"That old woman that used to baby-sit me?" She wrinkled her nose.

"That's the one."

"Big brother, I suddenly don't want you to leave anymore…"


	3. Chapter 3

"Kar! I'll miss you!" His sister had cried, running up to him and giving him a bear hug. Tam pulled at his hair and giggled-but it was nonetheless a sign of admiration. He smiled and patted them both on the head.

"I'll be back, you two. I'll be back the best, I promise." The sunlight shone brightly, beating down on his shirt and jeans. He had his backpack over his shoulder and various empty pokeballs, coupled with a small sum of money to start him on his adventure. "Katie, take good care of them." She said to the old lady who would be babysitting them both.

She nodded, waving him off as he started to embark on his quest to be something less of a complete and total loser, his sister grinning and waving him off, having the utmost faith in him, and he turned back one last time to see her smiling face, with the sun reflecting highlights on her blonde shoulder length hair, before moving forward, nervous but completely exhilarated.

Kar had left Verdanturf town early that morning with his Growlithe a bit hesitant though firmly by his side. He felt terrible about leaving his siblings behind, but he knew that it would eventually be for the better…well, he hoped, anyways. He didn't really know what he was doing…

All he knew was that a trainer must obtain all eight gym badges from eight towns in order to enter the league challenge. He also knew the to the right he would come across Mauville city and would be able to challenge Wattson, who specialized in electric type pokemon. He saw no reason his Growlithe couldn't beat electric types.

At the moment he sat contemplating this on route 117 under a berry bush in the shade, as the hot sun had made him practically fall over and collapse. He shined the Wepear berries on hit shirt thoroughly before eating them as lunch. His Growlithe was asleep, contented and having a lovely dream, and though Kar offered it some food it still didn't completely like him, or obey him, or want any of his damn Wepear berries.

As Kar Shined another berry and was about to put it into his mouth, he looked upwards to find a girl hovering over him, looking amused. She had a plain blue tank top on with a hood and a plaid skirt, and her long ginger hair hung in her face, matching her golden eyes.

"Can I help you?" Inquired Kar with berry still in his mouth.

"You seem a little newbish. That amuses me, so I came over to see who you were." She smiled.

"Oh…rightyo." He scratched his head, figuring she could have said something more flattering, "My name is Kar, and I come from Verdanturf town which is," He got up and pointed to the left, "That way. And you?"

"I heard about you!" She exclaimed, bolting upright and putting her finger on her chin. "You were that one with the rabid Growlithe!"

"That's Growlie alright." He agreed, and gave a good-natured laugh. "Gossip travel fast here."

"You bet. Hey, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Rhea." She said, sitting down and sprawling out one of her legs.

"Nice to meet you. Are you new to this training thing, too?"

"Not exactly. I already have two fairly high level pokemon, but like you the first badge I need is in Mauville town, and I can't beat that gym leader."

"Is it hard?"

"Well, not exactly. But," She picked two red and white pokeballs off of her belt and released them. "Go, Swablu and Speal!" In two blares of white light the bird type Swablu appeared along with the water type Speal.

"Why is that an…oh. Right. Water and flying." He frowned. "Sucky."

"You really are slow." She laughed, hitting him playfully on the head and recalling her two pokemon.

"Can't you just catch a ground type pokemon?" He asked, thinking hard.

"Which are where?" She asked him, massaging his Growlithe behind his ears.

"I don't know. You're the smart one."

"Well, Kar, I have a proposition for you, okay?"

"Sure thing."

"Help me catch a pokemon to beat the gym leader Wattson and I'll agree to travel with you." She giggled.

"Why can't you catch your own pokemon, miss expert?"

"That's the thing; actually, I don't have any money." She blushed. "I kind of spent it all buying supplies to beat Wattson, like super potions, and paralyze heals."

"Oh. So basically you want to mooch off of me, huh?"

"Please?" She sat down next to him and nuzzled him, then gave him the puppy dog face.

"I never said no, did I? I have more then enough poke'balls. C'mon, let's catch you a Roselia. They reside in this area from what the trainers around here have said."

"But…Roseila isn't the ground type!"

"So what? It's grass type, which means electric attacks don't work very well against it."

"Oh." She said, flustering again. "I knew that!" She crossed her arms and pouted. Kar laughed.

"You did, sure you did. Well, come on Growlie. We're going to help this chick out." Growlie woke up, yawned, and peered over at the girl sitting next to Kar. He sniffed her and then let her rub his hand down his back lovingly. "How come you're not mean when she's around?" He demanded, and Rhea giggled.

Kar pouted, remembering the puppy was nice to his sister. "Ack! I get it! You're only nice to girls, huh?" The puppy barked and seemed happy enough closing his eyes and letting Rhea massage his back. "That's odd…I wonder what guys have ever done to you…" As he started to ponder on it, however, Rhea pulled him towards her.

"You're supposed to be helping me, come on!" She waved her hand towards her, and ran off to find a roselia. Growlithe bounded quickly after as if in entranced by her.

"Hmm." He shrugged, bolted after her, and stopped where she was, near to a white fence, the interior of the fence filled with beautiful roses, swaying gently in the wind. "Good job, Rhea. This seems like a viable guess of where we might find a Roselia." Paying him no mind, she hopped over the fence and started pushing around the flowers to find a Roselia hidden amongst one of the plants. "Well that's no good. Here we are!" He stuck his finger up proudly, as if he had formulated a plan. "I know what we'll do!"

Her interest finally peaked; she turned around and looked at him. "What, Kar?"

"We'll just set it all on fire! Come on, Growlithe. Ember!" Seeming proud of himself, he watched his Growlithe obey him, (Just to impress Rhea, of course.) and set the whole field on fire with a spark of his ember. Shreiking, Rhea hopped back over the fence and whacked Kar over the head.

"ARE YOU RETARDED?" She exclaimed, looking at the burning field.

"But…I…thought it was a good idea…" Said Kar, shuffling his feet.

"Oh holy-" As Rhea was about to release her Speal, amidst the flames, suddenly a Roselia appeared, running back and forth in the field of burning flowers seeming very distraught.

"Catch it, now's your chance!" He said, seeming pleased that his plan was working despite a certain amount of fallouts.

"But I don't have a pokeball; you didn't give it to me yet…"

"Not quick enough!" Ripping out an empty poke'ball from his belt, he hurled it at the burning pokemon that his Growlithe was following back and forth with his eyes and watched it roll-the red light flashing a total of three times. When it stopped, Kar ran out to go meet it, completely forgetting that the field was on fire. After he picked it up, he grumbled a quick _holy crap_ and ran back over the fence back and forth screaming.

Shaking her head, Rhea released Speal. "Water gun attack!" She ordered, and the pokemon blasted Kar and the burning-or burnt, now-field to wet it all off. Singed completely, he walked over to Rhea and smiled affability. He handed her the poke'ball containing Roselia.

"There you go." She smiled, and then sighed; wiping ash off of his burnt clothing, As Growlithe sat wagging his tail by Rhea's side.

"Thank you, Kar." She said, and couldn't help but kind of blush and look away from him. "I suppose I have to keep up my end of the bargain and travel with you now, huh?"

"Hey, I agreed to help you, but I never said I _wanted_ you to travel with me! You seem like nothing but trouble." She knocked him over the head playfully. "Hey!"

"For a second I thought you were nice!" She laughed, hitting him again. He ran away and she chased after him, ready to smack him again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He cried, though he was still kind of laughing, too.

"Excuse me." Said a voice from behind both of them. They both wheeled around to see Officer Jenny standing there, her uniform blue and black, seeming kind of serious with a white ticket in hand.

"Uh oh…" Grumbled Kar. Rhea stopped too, scratching her head.

"Did you two start those fires?" She asked, her hands on her hips.

"Erm. Yeah, kind of…it was only me, though!" Kar volunteered. Officer Jenny finished writing her ticket and stuck it on his shirt, frowning with utmost seriousness. He pulled it off and looked at, and his expression quickly dropped. "10,000$'s? Are you KIDDING ME?" He asked, gasping. "That's all I have!"

"Maybe next time you should think before you set fields of expensive rose's on fire. Especially A police officer's field of expensive rose's." She frowned, tapping her toe up and down. Moaning, he fished the money out of his wallet and handed it to her, seeming very let down about himself. "Have a nice day" She then remarked, turning around.

"Ugh. I don't have any money left. Now I need to beat the gym leader more then ever." He sweat.

"I'm sorry, Kar!" Said rhea, embarrassed for the third time. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"No, it was my stupid idea. I'll make up for it myself. To Mauville we go!" He said, with burning determination. He then rushed ahead, seemed much more enlightened. Rhea looked down at his Growlithe, and the Growlithe looked back up at him.

"I have a feeling that there will be plenty more retarded ideas where that came from." She told the Growlithe.

"Growl." It sighed, seeming to understand. And then the two of them followed the enthusiastic Kar to Mauville town.


	4. Chapter 4

It was sunset now. The flowing hills and the town below Route 117 seemed to infuse together, and the clouds were stained a deep crimson red. Kar smiled as they reached the edge of Mauville, the two of them and Kar's puppy-like Growlithe peering at a sign at the intersection where the dirt road stopped and the pale brick road began.

_ --- Route 117, Verdanturf Town, left. _

_--- Mauville Town; Welcome to Mauville! Home to Gym Leader Wattson, Rydel's Cycles, And Mauville City Game Corner. _

"This is it," Remarked Kar with a grin, his beach blonde hair flowing into his blue eyes in a sudden gust of wind. "Are you ready, Rhea?"

"I-" Rhea frowned, looking into the town that was illuminated by the setting sun, casting an orange and yellow reflection on the rooftops of the various buildings. "Have a bit of a confession to make, Kar." She frowned, held her arms behind her back, and tried to feign innocence.

"Hit me." He said, crossing his arms and tilting his head.

"I'm a total Newbie." She said, frowning, blushing, and moving her feet back and forth, making something what of an imprint in the sand.

Kar giggled. Well, he started giggling, then he laughed lightly, then he looked over at her discomfited face, long auburn hair, and gold eyes, and then erupted with roaring laughter, clutching his stomach and rolling on the floor, becoming extremely sandy.

"It's not funny!" She shrieked, taking her backpack and whacking him over the head. "I lost those two times because I suck!" She snorted and looked away.

"Aww…" He said, coming up behind her. He gave her a quick hug and giggled, but then quickly stopped. "I'm sure you don't suck! You'll do much better now that you don't have a complete type disadvantage, I promise." He said, holding back more laughter and trying not to let any of it show on his face. She turned around to face him.

"Really?" She said, seeming unsure of herself. "I've never fought with my Roselia before."

"Growlithe." Growlithe comforted, rubbing himself against her legs.

"Am I sure you'll win? No, but you'll only know if you try, right?" He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a sprint, the three of them scampering clumsily over the brick road through the town, some children to stopping to point and stare at them and Growlithe and their mothers' pulling them along hurriedly.

In front of the large gym, Rhea and Kar panted heavily. It was fancily made out, like all the gyms in Hoenn, The shining windows yellow reflection gazing down at them. Bold red letters expressed the word "Gym" and next to that, there was an icon of a black pokeball. Fanciest of all, thought Kar, was the automatic see-through doors like you'd find in a supermarket. He thought it all quite magnificent, as he had never seen a Gym before.

"This is it!" He exclaimed. He motioned towards her, grinning broadly. "Come on Rhea, Growlie. Let's kick this guy's ass!" He ran inside, the automatic doors opening and shutting behind him.

Rhea looked down at Growlithe. With a nod, she started inside, treading nervously up to meet the gym leader Wattson, Growlithe at her heel. He was a short, balding, good natured man old-man who sat laughing with Kar.

"Seems like they get along just fine, huh?" Mumbled Rhea, coming up to the two of them.

"Is this another challenger?" Wattson asked, as he stopped laughing.

"Yes, this is, and she goes first. Ladies first, right?" He asked, giving Wattson a playful nudge.

"Of course!" He replied, and the two of them laughed. Growlithe and Rhea sweat it in the background. "But wait, I have an idea!" said Wattson. "How about you two tag battle?"

"Tag battle?" Asked Kar, seeming confused. He looked to Rhea for an explanation, but she shrugged. "Poke school was useless." He mumbled, looking up to Wattson.

"A tag battle is when each of you sends out one pokemon. Since theirs only one of me, I'll just send out two. In the Orre region, its how all battles are fought." He explained, clutching two pokeballs.

"Oh, okay! That makes sense." Said Rhea and Kar nodded in agreement.

"You two kids ready?" Asked Wattson.

"Yup." The two of them replied simultaneously.

"Let's begin!" He said.

The pokemon Referee stepped on the middle of the battle field. "This is a two on two battle. The first tag team to knock out both opponents wins. The battle Between Kar and Rhea will now begin!" He exclaimed, waving two red and green flags in the air.

"Right. Go, Growlie!" Kar exclaimed. Determined to make a good impression on Rhea, Growlithe burst into the battlefield, roaring stridently.

"Go, Roselia!" Said Rhea, trying to sound more confident then she was. The pokemon appeared, grass like with two red and blue roses for arms.

"Go, Magneton and Voltorb!" Wattson said, as he released his two pokemon at once. Magneton, a triplet of magnets bonded together with steal, each with one eye. And Voltorb, who looked much like a pokeball, the only thing separating it from its evolved form the different color placement.

"Let's start this off, Growlie, Fire Blast Magnaton!" Kar commanded, and Growlithe rushed towards Magnaton with a burst of fire.

"Magneton, Dodge it and Metal Sound!" Wattson ordered, and the steel pokemon hurried out of the way and a piercing noise filled the room that lowered Growlithe's special defense harshly. "Now Voltorb-Thunderbolt!"

"Uh oh..." Kar squeaked.

"No you don't! Roselia, Take the hit!" Roselia hurled itself in front of Growlithe, and took the thunderbolt not a moment too soon. It did hardly any damage to the plant like pokemon, and suddenly Rhea was glad that she caught it. "Use Stun Spore on Magneton!" Roselia released a rush of spores towards Magneton, and the pokemon couldn't dodge it in time. "Now's your chance, Kar!"

"Right-Use Fire Blast now, Growlithe!" Growlithe Rushed towards Magneton with Fire blast.

"Take Magneton's hit and use Thunder, Voltorb!" Voltorb took the large blast of flames from Growlithe, and although he was damaged, he wasn't nearly as hurt as Magneton would have been. Voltorb released the powerful Thunder attack unto Growlithe.

"Agility, quickly!" Kar said, thinking fast. Growlithe bolted out of the way. "Now use over heat-you know the target!"

"This isn't going to work, Kar, Take the hit Voltorb!"

"Roselia, push Voltorb out of the way and then use Stun spore on it!" Rhea yelled.

Roselia hurled its body towards Voltorb, who tried to take the hit once again for its partner. Then, as it was on top of the red and white pokemon, it released a stun spore and jumped backwards, awaiting further command. Simultaneously as this took place, the overheat attack reached Magneton, knocking it out.

"Magneton is unable to fight. Let the battle continue!" The Referee announced.

"Come back, Magneton." Said Wattson, recalling the Steel type pokemon. "Voltorb, this is up to you. Thunder wave on Roselia!" The attack made contact, paralyzing Roselia.

"Growlithe, let's get him back for that. Use your agility to get to Voltorb from behind, and then overheat 'im!" Growlithe did just that, appearing quickly behind Voltorb and tackling it with the overheat move. Severely weakened, it got up awaiting commands.

"It's there now, Voltorb, Thunder!" The weakened pokemon made a flash of yellow light appear in the gym and strike Growlithe hard and fast. Its knees buckling, it struggled to remain upright.

"We're not completely useless, Roselia, lets go, Giga Drain!" Roselia managed to snap out of its paralysis long enough to launch Giga Drain at it's opponent. Already weak, The Voltorb crumbled, rolling over, fainted.

"Voltorb is unable to battle. Victory goes to Kar and Rhea!"

"Come back, Roselia!" said Rhea. Then, beaming, she ran to Kar, whose Growlithe had trotted to his heels. "Kar, thanks again!" told him.

"It wasn't a problem. Really." He said, a big smile plastered on his face.

Wattson walked up to them, and firmly shook both of their hands in succession. "Congratulations! In honor of winning, here is the Dynamo Badge for both of you. I'd also like to throw in TM 34- who knows, one of you may find a use for it. And if not, you can always pawn it off to the poke mart!" The Gym leader laughed as Kar and Rhea took their badges and the TM.

"Great, Mr. Wattson. But you know we really need some money, too." Kar said, his hands on his hips.

"Kar!" Said Rhea, sighing. "I apologize for his rudeness." Said Rhea, shooting him a dark look.

"Nah, the lad is right. Here you are-5,000$ each. That should be enough to keep you two alive. Have a great evening!" He said, waving them out of the gym happily.

The three of them walked outside into the evening stars to notice that he really was right-the sunset has turned to evening. Lights were turned on in various spots at the town, and streetlights flickered on one by one. Kar looked at Rhea, giving her a playful nudge as Growlithe yawned tiredly, resting at her feet.

"I told you could do it." He said.

"I couldn't have done it without you, though."

"I couldn't have done it without you." He said, poking her in the stomach, then turning away to look around the town. "In any case, we need to find somewhere to sleep tonight. The poke' center sound good to you, Rhea?"

"Yeah. That's fine. But first, can we go back to Route 117 for an hour or two? It's a full moon tonight…and the stars are beautiful." She asked, listlessly staring at the sky.

"The stars…sure thing, Rhea, we can look at the stars." And the two of them walked together back to a hillside on Route 117, to lie in tranquility until the next day, when even more chaos was just around the corner. The strange thing was it didn't matter to either of them. What mattered to them now was the happiness from beating their first Gym Leader, from catching Roselia, and right then, for the peace and quiet of the moon and the stars.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note:** _Just on a random note, for the previous chapter, yes, it was Mauville City, not Mauville Town. I can't believe I didn't catch that. Ha-ha! Anyways, get ready for a weir…probably debatably appropriate plot twist! _

Kar awoke that morning quite violently; being shaken back and forth by what he noticed soon was Rhea. Rubbing his eyes, stretching his hands out and yawning, he looked over to her.

"What's up, Rhea?" He asked, still exhausted from yesterday.

"Her." Said Rhea flatly, pointing to a teenage girl in a pretty normal outfit, stretching out her one hand and examining her nails on the other. It wasn't that she looked exactly snooty; it was more like overconfident and snide. "She wanted to speak to you." Rhea continued tonelessly, and then tiredly, she flopped back onto her sleeping bag on the poke center floor and proceeded to sleep.

"Huh." Kar muttered, stepping over his friend's sleeping body and coming over to the other girl to which she pointed. She looked up to stare at Kar, and then she giggled.

"I'm Meria. It's nice to see you, Kar." Meria said, putting her hand on her chin, careful not to smudge what looked like freshly painted nails.

"Kar here. I noticed you said nice to see you…?" He mumbled, still stretching.

"Ah well, you never mind that. Anyways, are you familiar with the legendary Cujo?"

"Umm, you mean the one that was in the Stephen King book?" He replied, seeming confused by now.

"No, I mean the one that beat a certain legendary pokemon with relative ease a few years ago."

"Well, by now I'm actually completely lost. What legendary pokemon? Which Cujo? Where the hell do I know you from? How do you know me…?" Kar inquired, getting a bit aggravated.

"It might be better if we talk outside." Said Meria, pulling him out the door. Leaving Mauville town to the north, they walked in the feeble light of the rising sun to route 111, where Meria pulled him behind a tree and made sure no one was near.

"A few years ago a strange pokemon appeared. Maybe you don't know about it because it wasn't in this region, but it definitely happened. It was definitely one of a kind, and it was extremely powerful. It tyrannized the cities and towns until finally one day an Arcanine from one talented trainer rose up to stand against it. And they won. But this Arcanine was of proportional power. It wasn't normal. Your Growlithe-"

"Was the son of that Arcanine, right? And now that pokemon will rise again and it's up to me and only me to stop it and save the world from impending doom?"

"Don't flatter yourself. The first part, was true yes. But you? You save the world? You couldn't save a timid kitten. I was actually thinking that you should give up your Arcanine to a trainer with more status and power. Besides, I never said that the pokemon would rise up again. I was just going to say that your Growlithe was the son of that Arcanine and because of that, I want it!" She grinned and kept a cheerful disposition while Kar stared at her as if she was mad.

"You're joking, right?" He said, his expression amused.

"Nope, completely serious. I'm actually a member of team magma, and as we love fire pokemon, we can't help but desire a pokemon like your Growlithe with such potential. You however, Kar, have no skill, so I suppose we'll have to give your Growlithe to someone who's a bit less of a retard."

"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of giving you my pokemon." He shot, angrily.

"No problem. Your pokemon-less, so I'll just have to kill you and take your pokemon by force." She grinned manically. Kar snorted. "Go, Houndoom!" Looking slightly like the devil of dog type pokemon, Houndoom appeared. Most of its body was a dark black, but its belly was an orangish red, and grey ridges lined its back. His eyes locked onto the grey skull by Houndoom's neck, Kar stepped back, a knot forming in his stomach. "Use Flamethrower, Houndoom!"

As a rush of fire came towards him, Kar's Growlithe leapt in front of the flames, easily taking the hit.

"I suppose I should have been expecting that." Meria laughed. "No problem. That pokemon has no potential with you."

"Overheat attack, Growlithe!" Said Kar, ignoring her. Although the attack hit head on directly, it did nothing but contribute to the malevolent glare in Meria's eyes.

"This is why you suck. You see, you forgot about my Houndoom's Flash fire, which renders fire moves useless." Remembering that his Growlithe had only Fire Blast, Overheat, Ember, and Agility, he realized that his pokemon _was_ completely useless. "Houndoom, finish Kar off! Hyper Beam!"

As the large deadly blast was fired at Kar, his small Growlithe knew that it was helpless to block it. Though Growlithe had feigned hostility and ungrateful-ness, it really did care about its trainer. But as it made the faithful rush to try and intercept that hyper beam, something amazing happened. A flare of white light blinded both trainers and pokemon, and suddenly the hyper beam was gone. It had disappeared, into thin air, at the very last second. However, taking the place of the hyper beam was a small pink pokemon. It was cat-like in nature and it could be told at a glance that it was the legendary pokemon, Mew, looking aggravated indeed.

In shock the battling parties looked , their interest captivated to the utmost intensity, at the legend before them. Its eyes glowering red, it turned towards the member of team magma, rearing its head and releasing a blast of energy towards them, an attack which Kar did not recognize. Considering this pokemon was a legend, however, he did not doubt its power. More so, he doubted its existence and figured that he must have early symptoms of psychosis.

The Team Magma member shrieked loudly, clamoring as fast as she could away from the mew, completely overcome with fear. Kar only stood, still looking upwards, as the mew stopped floating, hesitantly approaching the ground. His Growlithe was equally mesmerized.

_You must be Kar._ The pokemon said telepathically. Surprised, Kar didn't know how to send a telepathic message in response so he just spoke aloud.

"That I am." He said.

_Ah. Right, then. My name isn't important, but you humans like to call me mew, I'd expect. Anyways. I have a bit of a favor to ask you, if it isn't too much of a problem, of course. _The mew explained.

"What might that favor be?" Kar asked. He was unsure of how to address a legendary pokemon, and in fear of being slaughtered, he just didn't address it at all.

_No need to be so cautious, I have no intention of hurting you whatsoever. Anyways, I was thinking you could travel to Werten, my home region. There will be species of pokemon unknown to the rest of the world, of course. It's unbeknown to me why they weren't already found, and this region, it's honestly not very hidden. Those humans, they really make you wonder…_

"No offense, my little pink friend, and I am surely indebted to you for saving my life, but, why should I?"

_Shadow pokemon. Not the same as the ones created by Cipher a few years ago in Orre. No, these pokemon are different. They are mutants of nature itself, not a product of man's twisted curiosity. They are bore from only one shadow pokemon that existed long, long ago. They are atrocious in power. We'd like your help._

"We? Aren't you the only mew?"

_That may be so. But there are a number of other telepathic pokemon there, as you will see for yourself. The ones I live with. _

"What about humans?"

_What about them? Well, there are poke'morphs. _

"Poke-what?"

_Half human. Half Pokemon. Simple enough for you? As they are considered abominations of nature, like shadow pokemon, they stay away from the outside world, from the regions of Kanto, Jhoto, Hoenn and Orre. Werten is much different, you see. If only you could gaze into the wonders of it! You would never want to return here. _The pokemon said, licking her fur disinterestedly.

"I have to admit, it does sound appealing. But I was planning on collecting the 8 badges here, and then the league…"

_Oh come now! Many trainers have done that! Come with me to Werten and meet the poke' morphs. And help us rid ourselves of those damn shadow pokemon. Such a nuisance, really. You'll be considered a hero, of course, and not a nobody like you are here. You and your trusty Growlithe. _

"Growl." The pokemon snorted.

"I…well…fine!" He said, clutching the air into a fist and his eyes sparkling with determination. "But…I have to take Rhea."

_Take your silly human friend._ Mew yawned. _But I'm going to take a nap. Meet me back here in an hour with your decision, Kar. And don't be late, because if anyone finds a sleeping mew here and I have to wake up and kill them, I won't hesitate to blame it entirely on you. _Cheerfully, the pokemon stretched itself professionally, as if it had done this many times in the past, and curled itself into a sleeping ball. Suddenly it lost it's intelligent aura, and it was replaced by the cute illusion of a completely innocent sleeping pokemon.

"Aww…" Kar said, unable to help himself. He skulked over to the sleeping mew and lowered his hand down to pet it. Opening one eye, the pokemon hissed.

_Don't even think about it, human. _

He backed away quickly. Calling his Growlithe to follow him, he raced back to the pokemon center in Mauville. Trainers looked at him, shaking their heads. He was sure they thought of him as a newbie. But they weren't the ones going to a far away region. Oh no. And it was this thought that kept him running at a constant pace to the poke'center, springing onto Rhea like a caged animal that was just set free. She bolted upright.

"Huh? Wha?"

"Hey Rhea? Guess what!" He grinned, cheerful as ever. Every spark of tiredness that once had filled him was now gone, replaced by dim-witted blind happiness.

"What?"

"We're going to Werten!" He practically screamed. And then, only after the entire poke center froze, looking at him as if he was a mental patient, did he brighten up and take her outside.

"What the hell is Werten?" She asked him, her eyes still flickering upon and closed and her movements clumsy and stumbled, as if she was still in the twilight of being awake and asleep.

"It's a new region. There are shadow pokemon there, and new pokemon, and people that are half human and half pokemon, and-"

"Have you lost your mind?"

"I'm completely serious. I swear." Kar nodded, putting up his right hand. Seeming unsure, Rhea looked towards his Growlithe.

"Did this happen?" She asked, completely doubtful the pokemon would confirm Kar's story.

"Lith." It responded simply, nodding its head.

"If this is a joke, I will slap you both so hard…"

"It's not. Will you agree to come?"

"Just pretending you are telling the truth…not that I actually believe you are or anything…we'd have to abandon our journeys now for something that may be nothing like we expected…" She said, frowning, completely unsure.

"But…it'd be something new and exciting. Not like everything else. We could be heroes." He said, gazing awkwardly at the sky. Eyeing him with some degree of embarrassment, Rhea looked away, blushing again. How could she say no? Yet somehow, someway, she knew the three of them were in for more danger then ever before. He must know it too, but he didn't seem to care. Instead, he seemed exuberant, enthralled. He was just an idiot, he could get her and Growlithe killed. But, she intended to follow him. Something about Kar drew her to him. She needed to get to know him. Besides, it did sound fun. For a second, the silence between them grew deafening a gust of chilly wind passed by, the foggy clouds still dimming the morning sun. After a little while of getting tired of him gazing at the sky how he was, she sighed.

"Fine. We'll go. But we might be killed, and we might me gored, or trampled, or burned or-"

"We'll go?" He said, grabbing her hands and jumping up and down. "Awesome! Lets go tell the mew!"

"Wait a minute-mew? You've definitely gone insane, Kar." She laughed, putting her hands on her knees to keep herself from rolling over laughing.

"Hey, I'll prove it!" He scoffed, blushing angrily. Pulling her upwards, he tread towards that spot in the forest where him and his Growlithe fought Team Magma, and where mew appeared. As his excitement climaxed, he reached the spot and looked for the mew, his eyes darting quickly around it, scanning every possible place, but the small pink pokemon wasn't there. "It was-but I swear!" He said, feeling the same hopeless anxiety that he did the day of the poke' school tournament.

"Of course. Now lets you to a therapist, you delirious mental patient. Wertan, mew, shadow pokemon! Heh! Mew! Hahaha!" She laughed, pulling him by the ear. "Mew doesn't-"

_Exist? _ The pokemon said to them both shrewdly. _I'm sorry to say that I do, unfortunately. _ The two trainers looked left and right, trying to locate mew. _Tired yet? Look up, you little children geniuses. _ Kar and Rhea looked up. Kar smiled triumphantly, and Rhea gasped. Growlithe simply barked and wagged its tail happily. _Kar, have you come to your decision? I don't have the whole day to baby-sit you mediocre trainers from Team Magma, you know. _

"Yeah-I have. My answer is" He smiled, looking up. From then on Kar, Rhea, and Growlithe's journey became so heinously deformed from what it was when they started out was beyond recognition. So many things in their world would become upside down. So many things changed. When Kar replied, he knew little that soon enough his pokemon collection would be riddled with shadow pokemon, a sarcastic legendary one, new ones completely, or that his new friends would consist of poke' morphs who constantly thought themselves better then anyone else, he definitely didn't know that he was getting himself into a world of trouble. Chaos would ensue in the world, and he was going along for the ride, consenting to it completely and saving mew's conscience by one simple one-syllable word. "Yes."


End file.
